The prognosis of delirium in older outpatients

Delirium is a common and serious neuropsychiatric disorder. The prognosis of delirium in older patients living at home has not been studied often before. The aim of this study is to examine the prognosis of delirium in patients attending a memory clinic of a psychiatric hospital.

The study population consisted of 85 outpatients diagnosed with delirium between October 2013 and October 2014. Seventeen patients had already been diagnosed as having dementia. Three months after the diagnosis, consenting patients underwent a follow-up visit. We recorded delirium status (remitted or not), new dementia diagnosis, subjective cognitive functioning compared to baseline and to before delirium, level of daily functioning, and place of residence.

After 3 months, 45 (53%) had recovered from delirium, 19 (22,4%) had persistent/recurrent delirium, 12 (14%) patients had died, and another nine (11%) could not be revisited for other reasons than death. None of the 64 re-examined patients reported that their cognitive functioning had recovered to the pre-delirium level, and the mean level of daily functioning did not substantially improve either. The rate of diagnosed dementia increased to 63.8%, and 18 patients (28.1%) had moved to a nursing home.

Delirium in older outpatients has a poor prognosis. A larger study on the risk factors of the prognosis of delirium in older persons living at home is advised.